Score-board.



G. E. BAIRD.

SCORE BOARD.

nrmonmn rum) APR. 15, 1908.

91 1,363. Patented Feb. 2, 1909.

BALL 5 BATT ER @UiEE 23% ismumm F 5 Zfltnesses: ZZZ/:51 i0)? COMM 57% 1 8. 771% 6.84 W QMQTW GEORGE E. BAIRD, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

SCORE-BOARD.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. a, 19cc.

a earance April 16, um. Serial in. 421,154.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Gnome Baum a citizen of the United States, real at Chicage, in the county of Cook, State Illinois,

have invented a certain new and useful Improvernent in Score-Boards, of which the allowing 1s a s ecification, reference being bad therein to e accompanyingdrawin The invention is desi ed more as eciefi for use at a hall-group or field for edpurposeofsignnlmg to all portions, near an tar, of anassemhled audience the important facts of .a 31m of base-hall, such for instance as the i. tity ofthe su cceseive batters, and the it different events such as balls, .strikes, outs, etc, as they occur in the progress of the game. An embodiment of the invention is shown in draw n in whichlatter,--Figure 1 is a View on the order (if a dizi'gramrcpresenti I a. score-board, a keyhear d, and a portion 0 the wiring. Fig. 2 ice viewinrear elevation .ofone of the s. ling plates, and the openatmg devices w ich are more immediately connected therewith. Fig. .3 is a view in vertical section on dotted line 3,3, of Fig. 2., "looking in the direction that is indicated by the arrows at the ends of such line. Fig. 4 isa detail view of the cecapementarm, detached, .80 in side elevation and on an enlarged scale. Fig. 5 is a plan of the said escn pement anm, also on an enlarged scale.

Having reference to the .draWinge-the Manic-work of the score-board, proper, is

desi ted 1, the keyboard being marked 2.

To t e score-board are applied the signalingplates, hereinafter referred to simply as plates, which presently will be described, and the key-board is furnished with keys en abl'inithe desiredeigcals to be displayed at Will t rough the intervention of electrical connections which I will explain.

One of the plates, and the devices more immediately combined therewith, are repredo sented in detail in Figs. 2 audB. The plate,

itself, is designated-3. It is contained withm an opemng m the frame-work of the scoreboard, pro er, and en orted in place by pivots 4, projecting orinontally in oppoeite directions "from its opposite edges at the middle of its height and engaging in bearings which are furnisl'ied in the framework at the corresponding sides of the open ing. One surface of the plate bears a large numeral; the other is blank. When the former surface of the plate is presented at the front of the score-board, the numeral is exposed to the view of the audience, in position to be read. When the blank surface of the plate is presented in front, the numeral is out'of sight. For the purpose of enabling the plate to beturned automatically upon lterplvot 4, 4, so as to present the respective an aces thereof at the front, alternately, a ,spurinion, 5, is fixed upon one of the pivots 4, an a spur-gear 6 is mounted upon a cu n POItiHg-aSt-Ud 7 carried by a rearwardly proecting portion 1 of the frame-work, the said 5 ur-gear meshing with the spunpinion. on the spungcar is turned, it communicates a turning movement to the spurpinion and plate. To provide for. turning the spur-gear, a ratchetwheel 8 and conncctedsprocket-wheel 9 are mounted loosely alongside the e ur-gear 6, upon the stud 7, and to the cai s rocket-wheel a sprocketchain 10 is applied, the said s rocket-chain passing over the sprocket-whee and its ends anging down at the opposite sides of the latter. A heavy weight 11 is attached to one pendent end of the sprocket chain, for the purpose of operatin the parts when per- Knitted to act, and a 'ghter weight 12 is attached to the other end of the chain for the purpose of .keepin the chain taut and preventmg its links rom slipping out of cage .ement with the projecting teeth of the spro et-wheel 9. A dog or pawl 13 is plvotally hung to the spur-gear 6 and acted upon b a spring 141 which holds such dog or pawl normally in enga ement with teeth of the ratchet-wheel 8,. T 9 weight 11 tends to descend, and the strain which it transmits through the chain 10 note. with a tendency to cause the sprocket-wheel 9 and ratchetwheel Ste turn upon the stud 7. Ratchetnrheel 8, by its engagement with the dog or pawl 13, cats witha tendency to transmit rotary movement to the spur-gear (S, and this tendency is transmitted from the said spungcar to the spurinion 5. and plate 3.

For the purpose .0 holding the plate 3 from turning, except when it is desired to change the surface thereof which is exposed to View, I provide an eeca ment arm 14,

which is pivoted at 15.

his arm is fnrnished with two laterally projecting detents 16, 17. These detents are located at different heights and in different vertical planes, that designated 16 beingx somewhat above the other, and nearer t e'fr'ont. A contracting spiral s ring 18 having one end thereof connecte with arm 14 eyond its pivot and the other end thereof connected with the fixed frame-work acts to hold the working end of the arm elevated against a fixed stop 19. The detent-carrying end of the escapcment-arm is arranged to work alongside one sideedg'of plate, 3, so that the detents may act in connection with the corresponding marginal portion of the latter. The tendency of the plate to turn under the action of weight 11 keeps the said marginal portion pressed against the leading detent 16. The latter holds the plate stationary. The said marginal portion of the late has formed therein at each side, radial of the pivot 4, a notch 20 which is large enough to permit each of the detents 16, 17, to pass therethrough. In the normal position of the escapement-arm, the side-portion or shoulder of the plate which is immediately above the upper notch 20 engages with the up er detent 16. When, however, the arm is epressed slightly, the detent 16 is carried down in front of the notch, releasing the plate so as to permit it to move.

The position of the detent 17 upon the arm 14 is such as to enable such detent to arrest the movement of the plate, almost immediately after the plate has cleared the detent 16, b engagement with the side portion or shou der of the plate immediately below the notch. So long as the escapementarm remains in depressed osition, the detent 17 will keep theplate rom turning farther. As soon, however, as the spring 18 is permitted to swing the escapement-arm upward against stop 19 again, the detent 17 will be moved into line with the notch 20 so as to release the lower shoulder of the latter, and the late will be allowed to turn until a half-revdlution thereof has been completed, whereupon the upper shoulder ad'acent the notch which is now uppermost will bring up against the detent 16, now occupying its working osition, and the turning movement of t e plate will be arrested. By this half-revolution of the plate, the surface which reviously was exposed to view in front Wlll be turned to the rear, and the surface which previously was at the rear will be turned to the front. 'Thus the blank surface, or the other surface with its numeral, may be presented to view whenever desired, by operating the escapement-arm 14 at will.

To enable the esca ement-arm to be operated under contro from some distant point, I employ an electro-magnet 21, the

- armature of which is constituted by the arm i 14 or carried thereby. The said electromagnet is electrically connected by wiring g 22 with a source of electric energy 23, indicated in the drawings by a conventional i representation of a batte and with a key 1 24 in connection with keycard 2. i

The number of the lates 3, 3, 3, etc., may vary in practice. The drawings show one group, twelve in number, under the head Batter, a group of three under Ball, and groups of two each under Strike and Out, respectively. In each instance the plates bear numera s. This is especially advantageous in the case of batters. The numerals may readily be made of a sufficiently large size to be distinguished readily from all the distant portions of a base-ball ground, whereas names upon the plates could not be read exce t from close at hand. The numbers emp oyed will correspond with those assigned to the players in a rinted or other list of the layers supplied or the guidance of the au ience, as for instance u on the usual score-cards or score-sheets w ich are employed for keeping the record of a game. The numerals may be replaced b large letters, if desired, in the case of tie layers. The key-board will be sup lied with eye to correspond in number wit the plates. In Fig. 1 the keys are arranged, grouped, and numbered similarly to the plates.

I claim as my invention 1. A score-board comprisin a plurality of signaling plates bearing num ers or letters representing the respective players and main facts of a game, electrical means for exposing the signs upon the said plates and concealing the same, and a key-board b g which the sai electrical means is controlled conceal individual signs at will.

2. A score-board comprising a plurality of rotatable signaling plates, means for turnin the same to reverse the side which is expose to view, and electrical connections, includin a key-board, by which to control the sai turning means and actuate the respective plates at will.

3. A scoreboard comprising a plurality of rotatable signaling plates, means for turning the said plates to reverse the side which is exposed to view, and esca ement devices controlling the movement 0 the respective plates and provided with meansfor operatmg the same at will to occasion the desired turning movement of given plates.

4. A score-board comprising a plurality of rotatable signaling plates, means for turning the said plates to reverse the side which is exposed to view, the escapement arm for each plate having the detents which act alternately, and means for operating the said arm at Wlll.

5. In a score-board, in combination, a rotatable signaling plate having amargin thereto display andof furnished with shoulders and an interven- In testimony whereof -I afiix my signature ing opening, means for turning the same to in presence of two Witnesses. reverse the side which is exposed to View, GEORGE E B AIRD the escapement arm having the two detents 5 for engagement, alternately, with the said Witnesses:

shoulders, and means for operating the said CHAS. F. RANDALL, arm at will. l EDITH J. ANDERSON. 

